Potion or Poison? Echinacea

Chocolate: Panacea or Poison??

Are you a chocoholic? If the answer is "Yes" then you are far from being alone. Aside from the weighty issue of rising poundage, there is also a more pertinent issue for sufferers of chronic pain. There appear to be 2 sides to this story and I really cannot say which is the more accurate: it may well be a case of "suck it and see"" The "for" argument goes some...

Flow-Diversion Panacea or Poison?

Endovascular therapy is now the treatment of choice for intracranial aneurysms (IAs) for its efficacy and safety profile. The use of flow diversion (FD) has recently expanded to cover many types of IAs in various locations. Some institutions even attempt FD as first line treatment for unruptured IAs. The most widely used devices are the pipeline embolization device (PED), the SILK flow diverter...

Erythrocyte transfusion: remedy or poison?

Industrial Policy: Growth Elixir or Poison?

The debate about industrial policy occasioned by the East Asian financial crisis is the latest chapter in an ongoing discussion about the effectiveness of selective government intervention in fostering rapid industrial growth. The crisis that began in the Republic of Korea in 1997 and the weak growth in Japan over much of the 1990s have prompted a reexamination of the effectiveness of the gover...

Kava: herbal panacea or liver poison?

Following reports of liver toxicity, including liver failure, associated with extracts from the Pacific islands plant kava (Piper methysticum), these have been banned from sale as a herbal anxiolytic in many Western countries, to the detriment of Pacific island economies. Pacific Islanders have used kava extensively for centuries, without recognised liver toxicity. However, the population is sm...